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Wineries dotting our nearby vino countries are starting throw a whole mess of pre-harvest parties, but we can see the fruits of autumn right here in the city. Yep, it's chile roasting time.

We rhapsodized about the August Saturday meet-ups in the La Puente High School parking lot a few weeks back. (El Rey Farms trucks in Hatch chile and roasts it in La Puente.) It's a nice scene, full of people from New Mexico, or people who like New Mexico. You have to wait a bit for your hot stuff, so it is a good time to chat people up.